Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III, Part 44

Author: Little, George Thomas, 1857-1915, ed; Burrage, Henry Sweetser, 1837-1926; Stubbs, Albert Roscoe
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III > Part 44

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

(V) King, second son of William and Ruth (Hastings) George, was born in Hampstead, New Hampshire, May 19, 1771. Plymouth, New Hampshire, at the confluence of the Mer- rimack and the Pemigewasset, heretofore a trackless wilderness, the home of savage beasts and more savage Indians, was to blossom into a prosperous pioneer settlement with the ad- vance of man and the quickening influences of civilization. Thither removed King George before 1787, then the outpost of intruding northern settlement. In that year the Congre-

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gational church was burned, and Mr. George allowed the worshipers to meet in his spacious barn, which stood near the present residence of Mrs. Solomon A. Smith, on the Rumney road. He seems to have been very prominent in the church, and had received in youth some education, for he taught school in Plymouth, and was also a farmer. He married Ruth Eaton ; children : Eaton, William, Daniel, David and Asa.

(VI) Asa, son of King and Ruth (Eaton) George, was born in Plymouth, Grafton county, New Hampshire, November 2, 1809, died May 6, 1887. He moved to Groton, then old Cockermouth, New Hampshire, a near-by town, and in 1850 became a resident of Charlotte, North Carolina. Like his respected father, he was deeply interested in the Orthodox church, and possessed a strik- ing physique. In the south Asa George was an extensive land-owner and planter. He married, February 22, 1832, Adeline Kemp, who died in 1843. Children: David Kemp, died aged two years ; Edward Payson, see for- ward; Mary Adeline (Mrs. Prather), a widow, residing in Charlotte, North Carolina.

(VII) Edward Payson, son of Asa and Adeline (Kemp) George, was born in the town of Groton, Grafton county, New Hamp- shire, July 4, 1840. He took .a collegiate course at Davidson College, North Carolina, and at the outbreaking of the civil war joined the Confederacy, becoming a captain in the commissary department. After the cessation of hostilities he removed to Denver, Colorado, and engaged in the insurance business. He next studied dental surgery in Boston, Mas- sachusetts, locating soon after in Frankfort, Germany. It was there he met the lady who became Mrs. George. Returning to America he located in Thomaston, Maine. Seven years more and we find him again in Europe, this time at Hanover, Germany, besides travel- ing extensively on the Continent. When in the United States again he settled on the old Creighton homestead in Thomaston, his wife's birthplace. He was a devoted member of the Congregational church. February 1, 1887, he married Harriet Rose, daughter of James Alexander Creighton, of Thomaston. Mr. and Mrs. George had three children : Alice Creigh- ton, born in Frankfort, Germany, November 21, 1888; Hilda May, Thomaston, Maine, Oc- tober 8, 1891; Donald Payson, Portland, Maine, February 5, 1893. Mr. George died December 19, 1907. In his will he bequeathed the following benefactions: To the town of Thomaston, six thousand dollars, to aid the

needy poor requiring hospital service. To the Congregational church, two thousand dollars. To Thomaston Public Library, one thousand dollars. He also had in his lifetime given liberally to Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute, the Children's Aid Society of New York, and Jacob Riis' worthy schemes in tene- ment district work in New York. A leading newspaper in the state has this to say of him :

"Dr. Edward P. George was an educated, refined and cultured gentleman, with the graceful manners of the old school. He had decided opinions on the questions of the day, but did not advertise them or obtrude them upon others. He was always considerate, and treated every one with extreme courtesy. He came to Thomaston a stranger, but at once and always commanded the highest respect and es- teem of our people, and his death is mourned by the entire community. He was unosten- tatiously charitable. *

"While he resided in Thomaston, he took great interest in local affairs, and especially in beautifying the town and promoting the effi- ciency of its schools. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Village Improvement Society in Thomaston, and was active in hav- ing the street sides kept neat and trim. * *

* It was through his energetic and diplomatic efforts that the town finally voted to introduce the study of music in the schools."

The line of Creighton runs back to David, who was a Scotch-Irish settler in Warren, Maine, and was killed by the Indians in 1744. His children were: Abraham, Samuel and David.

(II) Samuel, second son of David Creigh- ton, married Lucretia Howell, of Bridge- water, Maine. Their children were: Captain James, John and Jane (Mrs. Jonathan Ful- ler). Samuel died November 10, 1783.

(III) John, second son of Samuel and Lu- cretia (Howell) Creighton, was born March 24, 1774, and married Joanna Jordan. Their children were: Captain Samuel, Robert, John, Captain Ebenezer, Keziah, Joshua, Jordan, Captain James Alexander and Lucretia J.

(IV) Captain James Alexander, sixth son of John and Joanna (Jordan) Creighton, was born June 6, 1821. He went to sea at an early age and was master mariner at twenty- one, following aboard ship till he was thirty- two, when he returned to Thomaston, and began the burning of lime. The captain was as prosperous on land as he had been on deck, and built up a large business. He also oper- ated a grist-mill, a general store, coal and wood-yards. He married Emily, daughter of

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Nathaniel Meservey, of Rockland, Maine. The children were: I. Emily, married Sidney Smith. 2. Clara A., deceased. 3. James Ed- win, died in infancy. 4. Harriet R., widow of Dr. Edward Payson George, of Thomaston, whose ancestors are sketched in this work. 5. Elizabeth, died in childhood. 6. John M., see forward. . 7. Charles A., interested in the firm of J. A. Creighton and Company. 8. James Arthur, died in childhood. Captain Creigh- ton married (second) Isabelle Lewis, of Al- fred, Maine, who died in 1900, without issue. Captain Creighton died in December, 1893.

(V) John M., eldest son of Captain James Alexander and Emily (Meservey) Creighton, was born November 8, 1856. His education was due to the local schools of Thomaston, and at the age of nineteen he entered the store of his father as clerk. In 1879 he was made a member of the firm of J. A. Creighton & Company. He married Hattie May, daughter of Ferdinand Robinson, of Worcester, Mas- sachusetts, and has one child, Emily Creigh- ton.

This name, which is spelled

TWITCHELL Twitchell, Tuchill and Twitchwell, was borne by three men who were probably immigrants, that is, Benjamin of Dorchester, probably of Medfield, 1663, and Francis and Joseph, both of Dorchester, 1633.

(I) Joseph Twitchell, perhaps a brother of Francis, was of Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1633; was admitted freeman May 14, 1634, and was still a resident of Dorchester in 1656. He was a man of irreproachable character, and tradition represents him to have been a Cy- clops in stature and a Hercules in strength. He had a son Joseph and four daughters.

(II) Joseph (2), son of Joseph (1) Twitch- ell, was a soldier in King Philip's war. "A List of Captain Samuel Mosselys Company taken at Dedham the 9th day of Xber 1675," includes the name of "Joseph Touchwill." Among those "Credited with Military Service under Captain Mosely, December 10th 1675" is "Joseph Twitchell £4 19s 04d." Joseph Twitchell settled in Sherborn immediately after King Philip's war and died in Sherborn, Oc- tober 24, 1710. He united with others to extinguish the Indian titles in Sherborn and became the owner of one hundred acres of the first grants there in 1682.

(III) Joseph (3), son of Joseph (2) Twitchell, was born in Sherborn, September 3, 1688, and died there January 31, 1728. He married, March 27, 1718, Elizabeth, daughter

of John and Silence Holbrook, the latter a daughter of Jonathan Wood, who was massa- cred by the Indians the day before her birth, and whose mother expired soon after.

(IV) Captain Joseph (4), son of Joseph (3) and Elizabeth (Holbrook) Twitchell, was born in Sherborn, February 13, 1719, and died there March 12, 1792. His home in Sherborn was on the east side of a place still known as "Dirty Meadow," on the south side of a steep, rocky hill. Among the trusts im- posed on him was the guardianship of the Natick Indians, in settling their estates. Long after these estates were settled and he was deceased, the Indians were in the habit of coming to the old homestead then occupied by his son Peter, to see if there was not still something due them. He was a man of good judgment and common sense, and the follow- ing anecdote illustrates his practicality. He had been on a business trip to Halifax, and while returning the vessel in which he sailed encountered a violent storm, lost her rudder, and became unmanageable. The captain was in utter despair and considered his ship as good as lost. Captain Twitchell examined the nature of the accident, and at once sug- gested a remedy ; a man was suspended head downward over the stern of the ship, being held by his ankles, and in that position, with an ax, cut a hole through the ship into the cabin, and through this hole he fastened a temporary tiller by means of which the vessel was steered safely into Boston Harbor. The historian of Sherborn says of him: "Tradi- tion has brought down a high character for this man, and the record confirms it. He was captain of the militia, commissary for the army in the war of 1776, town clerk, repre- sentative and negotiate, and the leading man of the town until succeeded by his half- brother, Hon. Daniel Whitney." In the month of June, 1768, a township of land situated on both sides of a river in Maine was granted to the descendants of those men who went from Sudbury, Massachusetts, and adjacent towns on the Canada expedition in 1690. This grant was called Sudbury Canada, and is now Bethel. Joseph Twitchell, a man of affairs, was chosen president of the proprietors, and took great interest in the plantation. He be- came a very large proprietor by bidding off lands sold for taxes, and by purchasing rights of others, so that he had nearly a controlling interest in the soil. Neither he nor any of the other original proprietors were residents, but four of his sons became residents of Sud- bury Canada, and spent the remainder of their

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days there. Joseph Twitchell caused a grist- mill and a sawmill to be built on the Mill brook at the foot of Bethel hill in 1774. These, save perhaps a rude camp or two, were the first buildings erected in the township. In 1779 a house was built for the use of the miller, the first framed building erected for a dwelling. He married (first) June 28, 1739, Deborah Fairbanks, daughter of Joseph F. Fairbanks, of Sherborn, and with her was received -into the church July 27, 1740. He married (second) Widow Deborah (Sanger) Fasset, January 5, 1786. He was the father of fourteen children, all by the first wife: Samuel, Joseph, Elizabeth, Elcazer, Ezra, Martha, Deborah (died young), Abel, De- borah, Molly, Amos, Eli, Peter and Julia. Eli and Peter served in the revolutionary war. Eli left no descendants. Eleazer and Eli lived in Bethel.

(V) Deacon Ezra, fifth child and fourth son of Joseph (4) and Deborah (Fairbanks) Twitchell, was born in Sherborn, Massachu- setts, June 23, 1746, and died in Bethel, Maine. He settled in Bethel about the time his brother Eli died, and was a farmer. He first re- sided in Dublin, New Hampshire, where his brother Samuel also lived. Ezra Twitchell was in the battle of Saratoga and several other engagements in revolutionary war, and the sword he carried is in the possession of the family. While in Dublin four of his children, all that were then born to him, died in one day of throat distemper (diphtheria). So stupefied were the parents by this terrible stroke that they could not shed a tear at the time. He was chosen deacon of the Congre- gational church in Bethel, and worthily filled the office till his death. He married Susanna Rice, of Framingham, Massachusetts, by whom he had eleven children : Susanna ( died young), Hannah (died young), Anna (died young), Calvin (died young), Susanna, Cal- vin, Eliza, Eli, Thaddeus, Anna and Nathan F.

(VI) Ezra (2), seventh child and third son of Deacon Ezra ( I) and Susanna (Rice) Twitchell, was born November 24, 1781, and died 1874. He was a farmer and mason, and lived on the north side of the Androscoggin river, below Mayville. He married Betsey Coffin. Their children were: Daniel, Alphin, Nancy, Cynthia, Abiah, Samuel (died young), Samuel Birge, Richard Eastman, Betsey Chap- man and Lucian.

(VII) Alphin, second son and child of Ezra (2) and Betsey (Coffin) Twitchell, was born in Bethel, December 27, 1804. He lived near Mayville, was an active business man and

(lealer in cattle, often in town office, a good citizen and highly respected. He married Roxanna A. Twitchell, his cousin, who was born December 20, 1816, and died September 15, 1892, daughter of Thaddeus and Betsey (Barker) Twitchell. They had seven chil- dren :

I. Adelbert B., born December 14, 1836, was an officer in the Seventh Battery in the civil war; married Marietta Northrup, and had three children : Richard, Adelbert B., mar- ried Catherine Mead, and Henry F., married Leslie Wells; two sons: John, born October, 1903, and David, 1908. 2. Adeltha, April 13, 1840, married Colonel Benjamin Thompson, of Minneapolis, and had two children: How- ard and Harry. 3. Amelia J., September 2, 1842, married Major John M. Gould, and had three children : Annie A., missionary in China and killed during the Boxer trouble in that country ; Oliver C. and Theodore. 4. Adelia B., died in infancy. 5. Mary Ella, April 23, 1849, married Edward C. Chamberlain, of Bethel, and has three children: Beulah, Albert and Alice. 6. Herbert F., mentioned below, 7. Clara F., May 25, 1864, married Horatio N. Upton, of Bethel.

(VIII) Herbert Francis, second son and sixth child of Alphin and Roxanna A. (Twitchell) Twitchell, was born in Bethel, November 16, 1859. He was educated in the Bethel public schools and at Gould's Academy, and was then a clerk in a retail drygoods store for a year. In 1880 he matriculated in the Maine Medical School, from which he took his degree in 1883. The following year he was interne at the Maine General Hospital, and in 1884 commenced the general practice of his profession at Freeport, where he remained until 1892. He then settled in Portland, where he has practiced medicine and surgery, and at- tained much success, ranking now among the leaders of the profession in the state. He is surgeon and clinical instructor in surgery in the Maine General Hospital. He is a mem- ber of the Pathological Club, the Portland Medical Club, the Academy of Medicine and Science, the Cumberland County Medical So- ciety, and the Maine Medical Association ; also the Portland Club. He was made a Mason in Rising Star Lodge, of Freeport, Maine. In politics he is a Republican, and in religious views a Congregationalist. Dr. Herbert F. Twitchell married, May 14, 1885, Alice J. Gould, who was born in Avon, Maine, June 12, 1855, daughter of Rev. Samuel L. and Ann (Poor) Gould, of Andover, Massachu- setts.

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There were several an- WAKEFIELD cestors bearing this name who settled very early in the New England colonies, and their descend- ants have been conspicuous for good citizen- ship through the numerous generations that have taken their turn upon the stage of life. A town in Massachusetts has been named for the family, and its members have been con- spicuous in the fields of education, medicine, law and the ministry. They have also been active as business men and have contributed universally to the mental and moral growth of society as well as the material develop- ment of the commonwealth in which they lived.

(I) John Wakefield, the progenitor of the family which has been very numerously rep- resented in Maine, was a native of England. The first record of him found in this country bears date January 1, 1637, when at the town meeting held at Salem he was assessed fifteen shillings as an inhabitant of Marblehead in the colony of Massachusetts Bay. It is presum- able that he came as early as the previous summer. On the fourteenth of the same month, among the several portions of land laid out at Marblehead, he received four acres "on the Neck." Prior to 1648 he lived in Salem, which then included the present town of Marblehead. He first appears on record in Maine in 1641, when he and his brother- in-law, John Littlefield, received a grant of what is known as the Great Hill Farm. The hill at that time extended much farther into the sea than it now does, and with the pro- jecting land at the eastern end was called the Great Neck. This was in the ligonia patent, and neither of the grantees took possession probably on account of the uncertainty as to their title. John Wakefield settled in the town of Wells, where he attained considerable prominence. He served as commissioner and selectman in 1648-54-57. In each instance his father-in-law, Edmund Littlefield, served in the same capacity. In 1652 John Wakefield purchased Wakefield's Island and removed to it in that year and there resided for a time. He subsequently purchased land in Scarboro and resided upon it several years. Thence he removed to that part of Biddeford which is now Saco, where he remained until his death. That he was a man of considerable substance is evidenced by the fact of his buying and selling lands, and he was frequently called upon to witness deeds for others. In 1670, when he was probably incapacitated by illness or the infirmities of age, his wife acted as his at- torney in selling parcels of land. He died

February 15, 1674, and was buried at Bidde- ford. The destruction of the records of Wells, Maine, leaves us no accurate data as to the time of his marriage or his birth or the births of his children. His wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Edmund and Annis Littlefield, of Wells. Her death is not recorded. Their children included : John, James, Henry, Will- iam, Mary and Katherine.

(II) James, second son and child of John and Elizabeth (Littlefield) Wakefield, was born about 1670, probably at Wells, Maine, where his father, the original immigrant of this line, had settled as early as 1648, having moved down the coast from Salem, Massachu- setts. James Wakefield lost his life by drown- ing on October 25, 1707. In 1699 he was granted a tract of one hundred acres of land on the Kennebunk river, near the landing. Like most of the men of that time and re- gion, he was probably as much engaged in fishing as farming. On the day that he lost his life he had gone out with his brother, Will- iam Wakefield, Moses and Job Littlefield, and Job Storer (2). Bourne's History of Wells and Kennebunk says that they "went out in a small sloop to fish, there was a heavy sea at the bar, and as they attempted to drive the sloop over it; she was upset and all were drowned; bodies of four were recovered. These men were all valuable citizens and their aid was greatly needed." Some time prior to 1700 James Wakefield married Rebecca Gibbons, daughter of James and

(Lewis) Gibbons, of Saco. James Gibbons was "master of the magazine," and a landed proprietor of Saco. His wife was a daughter of Thomas Lewis, one of the original owners of the "Lewis and Boynton Patent," through whom he inherited an estate. James Gibbons died in 1730 and provided for his daughter, Rebecca Wakefield, among his other children. To James and Rebecca (Gibbons) Wakefield were born: James, who married Mary Dur- rell, on December 18, 1719; John (2), whose sketch follows ; Keziah, married, May 27, 1724, Philip Durrell (2) ; Nathaniel, married Han- nah Emmons in 1730; Samuel, married Ruth Godfrey, about 1736; Gibbons, who served in the expedition against Rasle in August, 1724.

(III) John (2), second son and child of James ( I) and Rebecca (Gibbons) Wakefield, was born, probably at Saco, Maine, about the year 1700, but the date of his death is un- known. He was a resident of Kennebunk, and previous to the building of the new meet- ing-house in 1750 meetings were held at his house. On August 25 of that year he was

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one of the committee to receive the answer of Mr. Daniel Little, who was invited to settle with them as minister. By the tax-list of the new parish, 1750, John Wakefield was assessed two pounds, one shilling. In early life he saw military service, for in August, 1724, he was in the company of Captain Moulton at Nor- ridgewock, Maine, in the expedition against Rasle. His brothers, Nathaniel and Gibbons Wakefield, were also in this expedition. On May 27, 1724, John (2) Wakefield married Elizabeth Durrell, and on the same day his sister Keziah married Philip Durrell (2), evi- dently a double wedding of two brothers and two sisters. To John (2) and Elizabeth (Durrell) Wakefield were born eight chil- dren : John, April 16, 1725, married Ruth Cousins ; Gibbons, March 7, 1726-27, married Mary Goodwin; Elizabeth, August 20, 1730, died October 7, 1736; Rachel, June 24, 1733, married Nicholas Bunnell; James, whose sketch follows ; Elizabeth, April 14, 1740, mar- ried Jonathan Taylor ; Jacob, July 26, 1742, died on August 10 of that year; Isaiah, De- cember 29, 1743, married Susanna Fiske.

(IV) James (2), third son of John (2) and Elizabeth (Durrell) Wakefield, was born May 7, 1736, at Kennebunk, Maine, and died in October, 1779. He was a farmer near Wells, Maine, and in the quaint language of one his- torian, "was one of those early settlers who thought more of the house of God than their own." This inference is drawn from the fact that at his death his house was appraised at seventy-three dollars and his pew in church at sixty-seven. This does not imply, however, that he was a man of little means, for the total inventory of his estate amounted to five hun- dred and forty-seven pounds and twenty shil- lings. James (2) Wakefield married, July I, 1756, Miriam Burbank, daughter of John Bur- bank, one of the first settlers of Arundel and a lieutenant at the taking of Louisburg in 1745. Six children were born to James (2) and Miriam (Burbank) Wakefield: Eliza- beth, married Jacob Waterhouse; Sarah, mar- ried Joseph Dennet; Miriam, married Lewis Martin ; Hannah, married William Water- house ; Abigail, married Peter Roberts ; James, whose sketch follows. Fifteen months after her husband's death, Mrs. Miriam ( Burbank) Wakefield married Lewis Martin, of Wells; this marriage occurred January 27, 1781.

(V) James (3), only son and youngest of the six children of James (2) and Miriam (Burbank) Wakefield, was born in Kenne- bunk, Maine, October 4, 1775, and died at Etna, October 8, 1848. He was a lumber-

man by occupation, and lived at Buxton and Etna, Maine. About 1796 he married Han- nah Smith, who was born February 25, 1777. They had seven children: Elisha, January I, 1797; Abigail, May 26, 1799; Harriet, Sep- tember 18, 1801; James, November 1, 1803; Hannah, August 4, 1806; Darius, March 9, 1809; and Archibald, whose sketch follows. Four of the children, Abigail, Harriet, James and Hannah, joined the Poland Shakers and lived there till their death. Their mother, Mrs. Hannah (Smith) Wakefield, lived till November 2, 1872, dying at the age of eighty- eight.

(VI) Archibald, fourth and youngest son of James (3) and Hannah (Smith) Wakefield, was born at Buxton, Maine, August 23, 1811, and died at Lewiston, Maine, February 2, 1882. Like some of his elder brothers and sisters, he was brought up by the Poland Shakers, with whom he lived till he was twenty years of age. He lived at different times at Buxton, Alfred, Poland and Lewis- ton, Maine, and at Boston, Massachusetts. On November 27, 1834, he married Sarah Davis, daughter of David and Mary (Curtis) Davis, of Lewiston. Her father, David Davis, was the second male child born in that town, the date occurring September 1, 1775. Archibald and Sarah (Davis) Wakefield had seven chil- dren : David Davis, born January 12, 1837, died at the age of four months; Seth Davis, whose sketch follows; Edwin, March 15, 1840; Harriet, July 5, 1843; Hannah R., November 21, 1849; Sarah A., September 30, 1853; Helen, November 3, 1855.

(VII) Seth Davis, second son and child of Archibald and Sarah (Davis) Wakefield, was born at Lewiston, Maine, February 22, 1838. He received his early education in the public schools of Lewiston, at Lewiston Falls Acad- emy, Kent's Hill and Litchfield Liberal In- stitute. In 1856 he went into the drygoods business in the old Garcelon Block, under the firm name of Clark and Wakefield. He re- mained there till the latter part of 1857, when he went to Dubuque, Iowa. In 1858 he re- turned to Auburn, Maine, and went into the dry-goods business under the firm name of Parcher & Wakefield. When his father built a store in Central Block, in Lewiston, he moved into it. After a time Seth D. Wake- field thought he wanted to see something of the country, so he started for California, go- ing by the way of the Isthmus of Panama, which was a tedious journey in those days, requiring about a month. Having seen as much of the country as he desired, he re-

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Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III, Part 44

Author: Little, George Thomas, 1857-1915, ed; Burrage, Henry Sweetser, 1837-1926; Stubbs, Albert Roscoe Publication date: 1909 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 818

Author: Little, George Thomas, 1857-1915, ed; Burrage, Henry Sweetser, 1837-1926; Stubbs, Albert Roscoe
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 818